AND HERE IS THE NEWS…

….a quick glance at the latest local news with Caroline Manson

And here is the news – a light look at the latest local news

Fatal bus accident in Bompas

On Friday morning a bus carrying young college students from Barcelona hit two elderly pedestrians. The victims were transferred to Perpignan hospital but sadly one of them, a 74 year old lady, died later that afternoon. The accident happened at around 10am near the Bompas sports and leisure park and the reasons are as yet unknown – witnesses say that the bus just suddenly veered to the right and hit the two elderly people.  None of the students on the bus were injured but several were treated for shock.

No more ‘commemorative wreaths’ in Pollestres.

The Conseil Municipale of Pollestres have recently decided to end the tradition of posing wreaths during official and commemorative ceremonies.  They say that firstly the flowers die very quickly, that a rose (for example) can use up to 50 litres of water, and that it has a carbon footprint because it is transported by plane from Kenya.  The new and ecological idea is to involve children who will plant trees, possibly locally grown Olive trees, in parks, cemeteries or town streets where they can play in the future.

Traffic Jams on A9 – again

Yet another ‘surprise’ control at the Le Boulou péage has caused kilometres of traffic jams between Spain and France.  The road had already been running extremely slowly just before Easter when many Spaniards traditionally spend the holy week holiday in the Pyrénées-Oriéntales.  The final straw for many motorists was the fact that due to roadworks the interchange was closed overnight on Thursday from 10pm to 6am.

New roundabout for Vinça

The RD66 (formerly N116) which links Perpignan to the ski-slopes has always been known to be dangerous with many accidents reported.  Three traffic ‘black-spots’ have been identified, Rodès, Vinça and Los Masos, and following the installation of the new roundabout at Rodès, work has now commenced at Vinça.  Traffic restrictions will be in place until mid-June with no access to Vinça via the RD13G – traffic will have to Vinça, Rigarda and Joch will be diverted to the west entrant of Vinça via the RD 13E.   

Man found dead on Canigou

On Wednesday afternoon the CRS mountain rescue team were on a training mission when they came across the body of a man, on a steep part of the slope under the Barbet peak.  Two other members of the team arrived on the Dragon 66 helicopter but there was no possibility of resuscitating the hiker, who is believed to have succumbed to a fatal fall.  The 45 year old victim, from Toulouges, had set out earlier that morning in a bid to climb the Canigou.  

La Jonquera radar is earning its keep

The new radar installed on the N11 near the La Jonquera shopping centre has been nicknamed ‘The Radar of Shame’ by its many opponents – mainly those who have been caught by it.  It has ‘flashed’ more than 50,000 vehicles in just a few months – and most of the victims are said to be French.  The maximum speed on this stretch of road is 60kmh but it seems many people are not aware of this fact as the radar flashes 400 times per day on average.  Local media reports that French motorists are less easy to sanction; technically they are liable for a fine without loss of points but local authorities are finding it more difficult to make them pay and just 49% of the fines issued have been paid so far. 

And finally…

As mentioned in one of this week’s news stories, the Canigou can be a very dangerous place to climb, but one local man seems to take it in his stride.  Sébastian Hoel climbs the mountain at least four times per year and has finally achieved one of his main ambitions – namely to spend the night at the top.  He left Los Masos at 9am, pausing briefly at the Cortalets refuge at midday before reaching the summit at 3pm.  He said that the fact there was thick snow was a ‘bonus’ so he was able to dig a makeshift bed, have a little aperitif and take photos of the sunset.  He said he ‘slept like a baby’ despite a temperature of -10° and in the morning was able to make himself a coffee by boiling the snow before making his descent.